The Free Software Foundation endorses few operating systems, directing interested parties to just a handful of GNU/Linux projects that follow a strict definition of supporting and distributing free software. The Trisquel operating system is one of the few projects on the FSF's list of endorsed operating systems. The latest version of Trisquel is a long term support release, based on Ubuntu 14.04, and will be supported through to 2019. Trisquel strives to be as user friendly as possible while sticking firmly to the philosophy of free software. The distribution ships with a version of the Linux kernel that has been stripped of non-free components and is available in GNOME and LXDE flavours. Details of Trisquel's latest version can be found in the project's release announcement.

Adrien Destugues sent an email to Haiku developers after the BeGeistert forum, addressing their inability to get R1 out the door, and proposed that they rededicate themselves to getting a beta out ASAP. He then asks a question that hangs above the heads of all developers of alternative and hobbyist OSes: is their goal "to create an operating system that specifically targets personal computing? Or have we evolved to the goal of a fun playground for OS-developers to play around with modern OS concepts?" He concludes ... "I do think that the PC-landscape has changed dramatically since the inception of the project, and I also underscore that there is a clear lack of focus when it comes to accomplishing our current mission. I would go so far as to say that the severe lack of interest of developers into finishing R1 is a great indication in that there really hardly seems to be any place for a new (mainstream?) desktop operating system anymore? Even the Linux on the desktop guys seem to have ceased preaching their gospel." That's some sober talk that's important for alternative OS fans to consider.

The death of an old friend sent Paul Ford on a bender; emulating old hardware to run familiar obsolete operating systems and software, and remembering 1980s and 1990s computing culture in about the most OSNews-bait article I've ever read. It's a wonderful read, with all your old favorites: Commodore Amiga, dial-up BBSes, Xerox Alto, MacOS 6, Smalltalk-80, Plan 9, LISP, Windows 3.1, NeXT OpenStep. Nostalgic and heartwarming.

The ReactOS Project is pleased to release version 0.3.17. A major new feature for this release is the inclusion of NTVDM, which provides support for a wide range of 16bit applications, a long requested feature by the community. NTVDM is still undergoing work but we felt that it was ready enough to provide a sneak peak to the wider community. In addition, the leadup to the 0.3.17 release saw a very impressive round of testing by the community. Several regressions and bugs discovered in the release candidates were promptly fixed and incorporated into the final release. ReactOS is quickly approaching a stage where what the releases will offer is polish compared to previous releases. That will be an important milestone, as it is then that we can begin recommending to people that they try using ReactOS for day-to-day computing.

Over the past year I've been reading a lot of opinions on the new init technology, systemd. Some people think systemd is wonderful, the bee's knees. Others claim that systemd is broken by design. Some see systemd as a unifying force, a way to unite the majority of the Linux distributions. Others see systemd as a growing blob that is slowly becoming an overly large portion of the operating system. One thing that has surprised me a little is just how much people care about systemd, whether their opinion of the technology is good or bad. People in favour faithfully (and sometimes falsely) make wonderful claims about what systemd is and what it can supposedly do. Opponents claim systemd will divide the Linux community and drive many technical users to other operating systems. There is a lot of hype and surprisingly few people presenting facts.

As Google’s new “material” design language evolves, it’s very clearly heading in a different direction than iOS. Talking about flatness is simply too superficial to be a useful discussion. Superficially, iOS and Android seemingly converged toward flatness (and Windows Phone, of course, was there already), but once you get past those surface similarities, all three mobile platforms are evolving in noticeably different ways.

The new head of GCHQ , Robert Hannigan, has spoken out strongly against American Internet companies. The BBC reports: "His concerns appear to be twofold. Firstly the fact that militant organisations such as Islamic State (IS) are using Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp to promote themselves and the increasing sophistication that extremists are showing in their use of such platforms. And secondly he is not happy about pledges from Microsoft, Google, Apple and Yahoo to make encryption a default option to protect users from government snooping."

Lollipop is out, though, of course, the only way to get it now is to buy a new device that supports it. And, according to Pogue, disappointment for people who like upgrading their OSes is only one of the ways that the new Android disappoints. It's flat. Perhaps too flat, and guilty of a myriad of user experience sins. But it's also chock full of new, improved, and useful features, many of which were cribbed from inspired by other platforms, like battery saver, do not disturb, new unlocking, phone to phone transfer, user accounts.

The highly anticipated version 2.0 of AROS distribution Icaros Desktop is now available for download. AROS is now an almost-20-years old open source attempt to rewrite the original AmigaOS 3.x operating system from Commodore, starting with its API documentation. Icaros Desktop extends AROS features with many 3rd party programs and libraries, providing a full preconfigured environment to allow modern tasks. In this new version, which has been released 2 years after the latest one, AROS' Workbench clone "Wanderer" can be replaced by x86-native port of DirectoryOpus 5 Magellan, which has been configured to act like a modern GUI, old Amiga programs can run in a more polished emulation layer (AmiBridge) which does not require original Amiga ROMs and Operating System, and whole AROS system files have been replaced with a newer branch, which also includes a new, faster and more reliable TLSF memory manager. For full size screenshots and downloads, you can follow this link.

In a Google Plus post, Alan Cox, of linux kernel fame, announced a new Unix V like operating system for the zilog z80 architecture. He's been on a z80 kick the past couple of years, even getting into hardware board design. For those interested, he has has a git repo.

Linux has a good range of open source software which helps users to organise their e-book collection, catch up on a novel, and to create, validate and publish their own e-book.

The Samsung SM-Z130H/DS with dual SIM, Samsung’s first low-end Tizen phone, has just been spotted undergoing certification at the FCC. According to the FCC filing under FCC ID "A3LSMZ130H," The Samsung SM-Z130H is a dual-sim smart phone. The device will come with support for GSM 850/1900, Wi-fi 802.11b and GSM 850/1900 bands.